Bihar Election News: Ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the Congress party, which had been adamant about its stand, has now suddenly backtracked. It has accepted Tejashwi Yadav's leadership in Bihar. The question is, if the Congress is going to surrender, then why is it glaring?
Patna: On October 23rd, something happened at Hotel Maurya in Patna that was not expected, at least this time. It was becoming clear that the Congress was ready to throw off the RJD’s crutches in the Bihar Assembly elections. But two days before October 23rd, the sudden entry of former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot changed the entire scenario.
The changed scene on October 23rd
On this day, the media received an invitation to a press conference. This invitation specifically came from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress. The time was set for 11:30 am. But the posters displayed outside and inside made one thing clear: Congress has once again surrendered to the RJD. We’re not saying this, but it’s being widely discussed in political circles. The buzz is so intense that even the average person in Patna is seen discussing the same thing at a tea stall or a Kachori stall.
Congress has done it again. This time, it seemed, it would show its strength and demonstrate its power by separating from the RJD. But in the end, it failed again.
Congress’s Surrender to the RJD
These posters made one thing clear: Tejashwi Yadav would be the Grand Alliance’s CM candidate in Bihar. The same Tejashwi Yadav whose CM candidacy had been silent on the question of Rahul Gandhi during the Voter Rights Yatra. Following this, Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru also demonstrated the backbone of the Bihar Congress and refused to bow down to the RJD. But how did this sudden change of stance occur? Many stories are being fabricated about this.
The first story: Lalu’s call!
One story is that Congress had tried to woo the Left and VIP to make Tejashwi Yadav, or RJD, the younger brother of the alliance. But the shrewd Lalu Prasad Yadav realized that the less experienced Tejashwi Yadav had fallen into this trap. Therefore, Lalu Prasad Yadav must have spoken directly to Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and told her that if Congress had its way, he would field RJD candidates against all of her party’s candidates. This is why Ashok Gehlot was given the responsibility to resolve the matter. But in Patna, Lalu Yadav must have bluntly told Ashok Gehlot the same thing.
Second Story – Congress Got Scared!
Another story is that seeing RJD’s stubborn stance, Congress must have feared that if RJD’s votes were not transferred to Congress candidates out of anger, it would be a disaster. Therefore, it was best to handle the situation in a timely manner. That is why Ashok Gehlot himself had to come forward and admit in a press conference to all the parties in the Grand Alliance that the election would be fought on Tejashwi’s face.
What Political Experts Say
Patna’s renowned political expert and educationist, Dr. Sanjay Kumar, says, “Since 1990, Congress has never been able to muster the courage to strengthen its base. It has always proved itself dwarfed by the RJD. Naturally, its own workers become disillusioned and apathetic, and then they turn to other parties. The RJD understands this weakness of the Congress very well and always exploits it through pressure politics.”
The RJD has been exploiting the Congress’s weaknesses from the very beginning.
The real question: What is the matter?
This was when the late Sitaram Kesri was the national president of the Congress. In the 1990s, Congress supported Lalu Prasad Yadav and helped him remain in power. After this, when Lalu Prasad Yadav split from the Janata Dal and formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997, Congress remained with him for power. It is said that in this way, Congress gradually alienated its base vote bank, which to this day has remained with it due to Lalu Yadav and has gone to the BJP.
Authored by: Rishikesh Narayan Singh
About the Author
Rishikesh Narayan Singh is in charge of Bihar-Jharkhand for Navbharat Times Digital. His 20-year journey in journalism spanned from Janmat TV, IBN7, ETV Bihar-Jharkhand, News18 Bihar-Jharkhand, to Times Internet. After starting in the national capital, Delhi, he now works in Bihar.
Courtesy: Hindi News